{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://biggs.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-biggs-introduces-ending-catch-and-release-act-2022", "Congressman Biggs Introduces Ending Catch and Release Act of 2022", "2022-09-22", "2022", "2022-09", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "Andy Biggs", "B001302", "biggs.house.gov", "biggs", "https://biggs.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Today, Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) introduced the Ending Catch and Release Act of 2022. This legislation amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to prohibit the Biden Administration from continuing to release illegal aliens into the country.\n\n\u201cPresident Biden\u2019s Department of Homeland Security has long-abused our immigration system and its actions are facilitating a catastrophic border crisis. The Biden Administration has ended the successful policies of the Trump Administration that secured our border. Instead of building on those successful policies, the Biden Administration chose to reinstate failed catch and release policies that ignore the statutory requirement that illegal aliens be detained while their asylum claims are pending. Catch and release is incentivizing historic levels of illegal immigration, stretching Border Patrol resources thin, and making our communities unsafe. My legislation restores integrity in our immigration system by explicitly prohibiting DHS from paroling or otherwise releasing illegal aliens into the country. DHS can either detain the illegal alien or require them to remain outside the United States while their claim is pending. We must maintain operational control of the southern border and this legislation gets us closer to that,\u201d said Congressman Andy Biggs.\n\n\u201cMillions of illegal aliens have been released into the U.S. interior under President Biden, many without even a court date to hear their asylum claim. And because the immigration courts are so backlogged (a situation exacerbated by Biden\u2019s purge of Immigration Judges who do not conform to open-borders advocates\u2019 dogma), even those with a date will typically not appear for years. This gives illegal aliens time to disappear into society and, in too many cases, strain public budgets, depress wages, and spike crime rates. Recent government statistics show half of those with pending claims fail to appear, and this rate is likely to climb. Congressman Andy Biggs understands the harm of so-called \u201ccatch and release\u201d policies, and with this bill, he\u2019s taking action to stop it. The Ending Catch and Release Act would prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from releasing asylum-seekers into the U.S. interior and codify President Trump\u2019s successful \u201cRemain in Mexico\u201d policy to ensure those arriving from Mexico wait in that country for their claim to be adjudicated. We urge passage of this bill to enhance public safety, national security, and relieve the strain on our entire immigration system,\u201dsaid Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) president Dan Stein.\n\n\u201cDHS Secretary Mayorkas\u2019 catch-and-release policy, and his abuse of parole authority, have created the largest border surge on record, with no end in sight. Mayorkas clearly does not care that his policies are harming American communities, expanding human and drug trafficking networks, and enriching the cartels. NumbersUSA applauds Congressman Biggs for introducing the Ending Catch and Release Act to rein in Mayorkas\u2019 abuses and give him no choice but to implement the unambiguous language of the bill. By requiring DHS to detain illegal aliens or require them to await an asylum hearing in Mexico, Congressman Biggs\u2019 bill will bring an end to the chaos at the border, protect American communities, and put the Border Patrol back to work securing the border, rather than processing illegal aliens for release into the United States,\u201d said NumbersUSA director of government relations Rosemary Jenks.\n\nCo-sponsors include: Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Rep. Andy Harris M.D. (R-MD), W. Gregory Steube (R-FL), Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX), Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), Rep. Mary E. Miller (R-IL), Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA), Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), and Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI).\n\nThe legislation can be read here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:08:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://biggs.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-biggs-introduces-ending-catch-and-release-act-2022"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3766936026513577, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}